Lent at Holy Name in Schenectady

All are welcome to come and join in our Lenten observances at Holy Name of Jesus. Located at 1040 Pearl Street in Schenectady, we are your small church on a small street with a big and welcoming heart.

Ash Wednesday

We begin Lent this Wednesday, February 14th with Holy Mass along with the blessing and imposition of Ashes at Noon and 7pm.

Stations of the Cross

Journey along with Jesus as we pray through the Stations of the Cross every Friday at 3pm.

Bitter Lamentations / Gorzkie Żale

A sung devotion originating in Poland in the 18th century. The devotion is a reflection and meditation on the Passion of Christ from the perspective of and through the sorrows experienced by the Blessed Virgin Mary. The devotion consists of a three-part cycle. One part of the cycle is held on each Sunday at 3pm. The entire devotion is sung on Good Friday.

Sunday Holy Mass

Come join in weekly worship every Sunday at 10am or Noon. Jesus’ community gathers each week to learn about His life and mission, His teachings, and to show Him proper worship. We also have weekly School of Christian Living classes for children and youth. Investigate the claims of Jesus with us as we strive to know and serve him better. Whether you are working, studying or living in the Schenectady area or throughout New York’s Capital Region, we look forward to welcoming you.

Lenten Charity

The practice of Lent motivates us to expand our charity towards our brothers and sisters. Holy Name is participating in a Directed Giving program for Lent. Food and gathered items are delivered to Schenectady area food programs:

Our Directed Giving Program suggested offerings:

  • Ash Wednesday Week, Feb. 14-17, LET’S DO LUNCH Tuna and Mayonnaise, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Soup and Crackers.
  • 1st Week of Lent, Feb. 18-24, FEELING FRUITY Canned Peaches, Pears, Fruit Cocktail, Pineapple or Applesauce, 100% Juice in Cans.
  • 2nd Week of Lent, Feb. 25 – Mar. 3, VEGGIE MANIA Canned Corn, Canned Peas, Canned Beans, Canned Potatoes, Canned Sweet Potatoes.
  • 3rd Week of Lent, Mar. 4-10, DINNER IS SERVED Canned Beef Stew, Canned Pork and Beans, Instant Potatoes/Stuffing Mix, Macaroni and Cheese, Spaghetti or other Pasta, Canned Spaghetti Sauce.
  • 4th Week of Lent, Mar. 11-17, SCHOOL NEEDS Pencils and Pens, Folders and Notebooks, Crayons,
    Tape and Elmer’s Glue.
  • Passion Week, Mar. 18-24, BABY MAKES THREE Disposable Diapers, Baby Wipes, Liquid Formula, Jars of Baby Food.
  • Holy Week, Mar. 25-30, SPECIAL NEEDS DIET Low Sodium Soups, Canned Fruit in Juices (not syrup), Canned Tuna in Water, Low Sodium Crackers, Natural Applesauce.

Fast and Abstinence

During Lent we also abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. This small practice of denial helps us in regulating our minds and bodies. We need to practice for all endeavors, whether sports or hobbies. So too spiritually. If we practice small denials we are better prepared to reject things that are truly damaging to our lives.

Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday

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What are you living for?
For forever!

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

We are about to embark on our Lenten journey. In 4 days, we come to church to have ashes imposed on our foreheads in an act of desire – desire for repentance, change, and victory. These desires puts us on the side of Jesus so that we live in accordance with His way and in faith that His promised victory will be fulfilled for us.

Many people don’t get it. They might ask us why we take on ashes. What’s the point of our desire? Aren’t we generally good enough, victorious enough already?

If we are honest with ourselves and with them, we state a faith in Jesus and a victory beyond the here and now. We admit that Jesus is our life; that we have complete faith in Him and in His victory. We admit that the ashes symbolize our shortcomings in not living Jesus’ way of life. We state that we want to make our lives like His. Our ashes symbolize a fact and a desire – We want to fix our lives so we live as Jesus asked us to live. Then we will find eternal happiness and victory.

If we lived only by our own desires and practices our lives would be empty. We would always be chasing after perfection in what we want, but never find what we need. We know, in the end, that our ways, our desires, our wants and needs are ultimately unfulfilling. They offer no hope beyond today (and not that much).

By aligning ourselves with Jesus’ way, in striving to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord we conform our lives – we focus on living the right way. Living Jesus’ way brings us to eternal life which is God’s offer and promise of victory. Jesus’ victory helps us along the way and brings us to perfection even when we fall short. His love covers our failures giving victory.

In taking on ashes, in working through the season ahead, we implore God’s help to get back on track. We ask Him to help us in living for what is greater and more powerful than any temporary desire; better than anything the world can offer. We place our trust in His mercy that overcomes all weakness.

What can the world offer? The world offers more work, rules, temporary solutions, and a day’s wage. Are they enough? Where will they lead? Nowhere! With faith, and a re-commitment to Jesus we live for glory. All else will fade except happiness forever – our complete victory in Jesus.

Bible Study for Sexagesima
  • 2/3 – Psalm 149:5 – Father, grant that I may follow Your ways, living a godly life so that I might exult every day.
  • 2/4 – Romans 2:4 – Lord Jesus, You have given us the perfect example of love and kindness. Grant that I may trust in Your patience and grace as You lead me in reforming my life.
  • 2/5 – Romans 11:22 – Lord Jesus, grant that I may persevere in kindness. Have mercy on me when I fall.
  • 2/6 – Matthew 9:13 – Lord Jesus, help me to prioritize my life so as to put mercy first. Then may my gifts be acceptable upon Your altar.
  • 2/7 – Luke 6:35-36 – Father, Your love for us knows no bounds; You gave Your all for us. Grant that all You have done may be more than an example for me, but rather my way of life.
  • 2/8 – Ephesians 4:32 – Holy Spirit, fill Your Holy Church with kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness. Grant that I may live these virtues among my brothers and sisters.
  • 2/9 – Galatians 5:22 – Holy Spirit, fill me with Your gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and faithfulness.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, grant that I may live Your kindness and mercy. Save me from my sinfulness.

Reflection for Sexagesima Sunday

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But he hit me!!!!
You’re older. You can take it.

“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.”

Don’t you just hate it when justice isn’t done, when someone wrongs you and they don’t get what’s coming to them?

In the words above we may find a childhood memory. The young people here may recall saying and hearing the same thing recently. Dad or mom step in and tell us to act our age, take it. There might be some discipline involved, but it is never really satisfying to us. Once someone has hurt or wronged us they cannot take it back. They cannot put the genie back in the bottle or the toothpaste back in the tube.

This is the problem of sin.

Holy Scripture describes sin as the breaking, or transgression, of God’s law (1 John 3:4). It is also defined as disobedience or rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7), as well as independence from God. The original translation of “sin” is “to miss the mark” of God’s holy standard of righteousness.

If someone hates us, curses us, acts as an enemy, abuses us, hits us, or takes our stuff our natural reaction, based on our tendency to sin, is to do the same. Hit back, take their stuff, punish them, and wage war. Doing all that perpetuates sin.

Think of it this way, if someone passes me in their car, cuts me off, honks at me, and is otherwise rude and annoying, what do I feel like doing? My broken self calls out to do the same to them, or even to others. I might be so perturbed that later that day I let a door slam in someone’s face, I fail to hold the elevator, or I give someone a dirty look. What do they do? More of the same! On and on, sin perpetuating the next sin.

Jesus’s instructions break that cycle. They call us to live holy and righteous lives without sin. We live as light in the face of darkness, responding differently.

Jesus is telling us to act our age. He considers us to be the older children of His body. As such we need to act maturely in the face of sin. When the rude driver cuts us off, we need to say a prayer for them and do additional acts of kindness. In doing so we have followed Jesus’ instructions. In doing this we trust in God’s justice. We can’t put others toothpaste back in the tube, but we can make sure ours doesn’t get out. Doing that, we are on the mark, hitting God’s holy standard of righteousness.

February 2013 Newsletter

It is February 1st and lo and behold – a newsletter is here on-time! Our February 2013 newsletter and calendar is complete and now available. Tons of events, Soup on Sunday, everything you’d ever want to know for your Lenten journey, and a few surprises too. You may view and download a copy right from this website.

February 2013 Newsletter.

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Employment opportunities in Schenectady

From the Times Union and State Department of labor: 5,000 jobs for the taking

Opportunities abound in region, but gap is wide in location, skills, pay

While the state Labor Department reported last week that the five-county Capital Region’s unemployment rate hit an all-time high for December of 7.4 percent, it also wants job seekers to know that nearly 5,000 local openings are listed at its Jobs Express website.

The positions range from groundskeepers to engineers, and TV anchors to pharmacists.

But opportunities aren’t equally distributed. The Albany/Colonie area had nearly half the total, 2,226 openings, while Clifton Park had 142 and the city of Troy just 113.

And the 5,000 openings listed in the eight-county area — Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington — equal less than an eighth of the more than 41,000 people who were unemployed and looking for work in those counties during December, according to Labor Department figures.

The job bank doesn’t include every opening in the region, however.

This map shows which communities have at least 50 job openings. Niskayuna jobs are included with Schenectady, and Malta jobs with Ballston Spa. Because the East Greenbush-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals plant has a Rensselaer mailing address, those jobs show up as Rensselaer-based.

Some of the best-paying positions are in Ballston Spa/Malta, Rensselaer and Schenectady… The Rensselaer figure was boosted by the relatively large number of management, engineering and life sciences job openings, while engineering job openings boosted the Ballston Spa/Malta figure.

GlobalFoundries has been expanding in Malta, while Regeneron is undertaking an expansion of its manufacturing plant on the East Greenbush/Rensselaer line.

In Schenectady, meanwhile, engineering, management and computer and mathematical job openings are heavily represented. General Electric Co. opened a new battery plant last year and has been adding jobs at its turbine and generator plant downtown. Its Global Research Center is headquartered in Niskayuna.

Meanwhile, Bolton Landing had by far the lowest average median salary figure among the dozen communities listed.

Openings in the Adirondack resort community were in just two job classifications: food preparation and serving (median annual earnings are $19,140) and building grounds/maintenance (median earnings are $23,720).

The Labor Department’s Jobs Express site has been operating since 2011 and is designed to help job-seekers more quickly locate openings near their home.

Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales said 65,000 people have found jobs through the service since its debut.

The department is working with University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering on a job fair Saturday, Feb. 2, at which the nanocollege hopes to fill as many as 300 job openings. That event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school on Fuller Road in Albany. Other job fairs are listed at the Department’s website.

The Times Union, meanwhile, also has a Jobs site in conjunction with monster.com that offers more than 1,000 area jobs.

Job openings by area

Most local opportunities are clustered near larger cities, and more rural areas pay less.

City/town Openings salary*
Albany 2,226 $46,196
Ballston Spa 88 $56,171
Bolton Landing 63 $20,958
Clifton Park 142 $40,174
Glens Falls 203 $38,791
Hudson 266 $40,815
Latham 237 $43,192
Queensbury 134 $37,785
Rensselaer 115 $53,239
Saratoga Springs 203 $41,018
Schenectady 400 $51,683
Troy 113 $43,031

* Median salaries for each job category were used to calculate an overall average based on the number of vacancies. Source: New York State Department of Labor

Bible Study for Septuagesima
  • 1/27 – Psalm 13:6 – Lord Jesus, You touch every aspect of my life and have granted me the bounty of Your love. Grant that I may sing of Your gracious love before all people.
  • 1/28 – Psalm 33:3 – Lord, You have made all things new by redeeming me. Grant that I may repent of my old ways so as to live and sing in the newness of Your way.
  • 1/29 – Psalm 40:3 – Lord, You have placed a new song in my heart, the song of life. Grant that I may proclaim the newness of life found in You so that many may come to know You.
  • 1/30 – Psalm 105:2 – Lord Jesus, all worship belongs to You. Grant that I may sing Your praises and not place trust in nor worship the ways of the world.
  • 1/31 – Revelation 5:9 – Lord Jesus, by Your death and glorious resurrection You have drawn me and all nations to You. Grant that we may be joined together in Your Holy Church and in Your everlasting Kingdom.
  • 2/1 – Isaiah 42:10 – Lord Jesus, grant that wherever I may find myself, I may sing out Your wondrous deeds.
  • 2/2 – Ephesians 5:19 – Lord Jesus, grant Your graces to our Holy Polish National Catholic Church. Fill our hearts with charity toward each other. May we join as one in praise and worship of You.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, grant that I may sing out with joy in praise of Your glorious love.

Reflection for Septuagesima and Music Scholarship Sunday

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How can I know you’re happy?
I’m singing to God.

Make a joyful shout to God all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious – Psalm 66:1,2.

Our Holy Church places a right emphasis on the place of music in worship. In the ancient Church, the Bishop as minister of the Eucharist sung the words of the Eucharistic prayer, raising people’s minds to the beauty and glory of God.

Our worship transcends time. Heaven will always resound with worship. When we complete our life on earth, we will have eternal careers as worshippers praising Him around His throne.

Our days in the community of faith – the Church – are to be spent in preparation for this eternal career through worship.

Jesus said: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.”

Therefore, we encourage each other to worship and take this opportunity to stress the importance of worship through song. We further encourage study by our youth and adults through scholarships so that their talents might add to our worship.

Worship through music provides the body of Christ in the Church, and here in our parish, with an opportunity to engage in heartfelt and meaningful praise of the Triune God. The style of our worship songs varies, but through each we offer to God our praise and adoration in singing, choral music, ensembles, and special presentations.

Worshipping through song glorifies God, edifies the body, prepares our hearts for hearing the Word preached, and is our response to teaching. St. Paul told the people of Colossae, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

It is the Church’s goal that worship in song be a vital part of each believer’s life, allowing God to mold our attitudes and actions as we give voice to the “new song” He has placed in our hearts (Psalm 96:1).

The ministry of music plays a very important role in our worship. It expresses our joy in a special way and is a unique and vital aspect of our worship.

Our heavenly Father expects absolutely everything we do to be an act of worship. The purpose of worship in music is to bring Him glory by rehearsing His character through song. What better way to show Him, and each other, the joy we have in Christ.

National United Choirs – Music Scholarship Sunday

Make a joyful shout to God all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious – Psalm 66:1,2

UnknownJanuary 27th, the last Sunday of January, has been set aside by PNCC Synodal resolution as Music Scholarship Sunday, which puts special emphasis on the Music Scholarship program of the National United Choirs of the P.N.C.C. It is the Sunday when the choirs, organists, directors and choir members should be recognized for their contributions to the music ministry of our church. It is also the Sunday when we look to the future and identify those that we hope will be part of the music ministry of the church. Thank you for your support of the music scholarship program. Scholarship applications are available on-line at the NUC website.

Bible Study for the Fifth Week of Christmas
  • 1/20 – John 14:12-14 – Lord Jesus, I believe in You. Grant me the grace to draw all to Your Holy Name so that together we may work for the coming of Your kingdom.
  • 1/21 – John 20:29 – Lord Jesus, I believe in You by the word spoken to me. Grant me the grace to stand firm in my belief so that I may dwell in the reality of Your blessing.
  • 1/22 – Romans 10:14 – Lord Jesus, grant that by my belief I may preach Your word to all so that they too may believe.
  • 1/23 – Mark 16:15-16 – Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to follow Your great commission and bring many to regeneration and freedom from sin in baptism.
  • 1/24 – Mark 9:24 – Lord Jesus, grant that I may never despair of Your love and assistance. Strengthen my belief in the totality of Your grace.
  • 1/25 – Colossians 3:17 – Lord Jesus, grant that my belief and confidence in You may show forth to all I encounter. By my words and deeds may I may proclaim Your Holy Name.
  • 1/26 – 1 John 4:1-2 – Lord Jesus, grant that I place no confidence in the words and ways of the world, but that I test each so I may live in conformity with Your way, Your truth.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, grant that I may believe not by signs and wonders, but by Your word, truth, and presence.